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Recipe Fri Sep 19 2008
Digging Figs
Figs are big these days. That's because early fall can be counted as the second season for fresh figs (the first being a period of just a few weeks in early summer). Neither season lasts very long, though, so the time to embrace the fig is now. This recipe features the fig in two incarnations: once in a spread, blended with cooked onions and toasted walnuts, and the second time sliced in half and roasted in the oven until the insides become sticky and gooey. The fig's sweetness is tempered by the salty cheese and spicy arugula, which combine to make a fabulous open-faced sandwich that can be cut up small for hors d'oeuvres or eaten whole as a decadent lunch.
Open-Faced Fig Sandwiches with Arugula and Parmesan
(from Martha Stewart Living magazine, September 2008 issue)
Serves 6
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 pound fresh figs (any type), halved lengthwise
2 ounces walnuts, toasted (1/3 cup)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
6 slices rustic whole-wheat (or white) bread
2 ounces baby arugula (about 3 cups)
1 ounce shaved Parmesan cheese (1 cup)*
1. Preheat oven to 400. Mix sugar, cayenne, and teaspoon salt in a small bowl.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly golden and soft, about 12 minutes. Add 1/3 of the figs, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon sugar mixture, and cook, stirring often, until sugar caramelizes, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly, then pulse onion-fig mixture and walnuts in a food processor. Add pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. (Spread can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
3. Place remaining figs, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. Roast until tender and caramelized on cut sides, about 10 minutes.
4. Spread 3 tablespoons of the fig, onion and walnut mixture on each slice of bread. Top each with arugula, cheese, and several warm fig halves. Serve immediately.
*Other cheeses, such as goat cheese or blue cheese, can be substituted for the Parmesan. These softer cheeses can be spread on the bread along with the fig, onion and walnut mixture.
